The Planetary Society Announces International Space Art Contest Winners: Public Must Now Award the Grand Prize

The Planetary Society announced twelve winners from over 150 finalists in its International Space Art Contest. The public will select the grand prize winner by voting on-line on The Planetary Society's website, planetary.org.

The winners represent seven nations, and include entries from children as young as five and from adults in their eighties.

Winners were chosen in each of three age categories. The public is invited to choose their favorite entry from among the work of the three first-place artists.

The grand prize winner will be featured on the cover of a CD-ROM of the winning artwork, which will be distributed to space museums, science centers, planetariums, and art galleries around the world. The International Association of Astronomical Artists and The Planetary Society are providing additional prizes for all the winners.

"It was exciting to see such creativity and innovation in the drawings and paintings from each age group. It's obvious from the domed cities, shuttlecraft, life support equipment, and even shopping malls, that both kids and adults had great fun making their dreams of a future world come alive on paper," said contest judge Rick Sternbach, Senior Illustrator and Technical Consultant for Star Trek Voyager.

The art contest was part of The Planetary Society's "Red Rover Goes to Mars" educational project sponsored by the LEGO Company. Entrants were asked to draw or paint what the next landing site on Mars might look like, both now and in 100 years. Artists submitted a wide range of entries, many exhibiting optimistic portrayals of humans inhabiting Mars within the coming century.

"Humans advance by imagining the future, then conveying their dreams and visions through the medium of art and science. It was a privilege to see the outcome of this process," said art contest judge Charles Kohlhase, an artist and a member of The Planetary Society's Advisory Council.

A team of professional space artists, including members of the International Association of Astronomical Artists (IAAA), selected the winners. In addition to Sternbach and Kohlhase, the judges were Don Davis, John Brosio, and Stephen Nowlin. The Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California hosted the international round of judging for the art contest.

Art was judged in three categories: Children 10 and under, Youth 11 to 18 years, and Adults over 18 years. Each country's art was judged within that nation, and the best artwork from each participating country went on to a final round of judging at the international level.

Artists from Canada, Spain, Australia, Thailand, and the Netherlands also submitted entries, and the "Best of Nation" winners from those countries will be honored as well.

THE PLANETARY SOCIETY:
Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray and Louis Friedman founded The Planetary Society in 1980 to advance the exploration of the solar system and to continue the search for extraterrestrial life. With 100,000 members in over 140 countries, the Society is the largest space interest group in the world.

RED ROVER GOES TO MARS:
Red Rover Goes to Mars, an outgrowth of the Society's Red Rover, Red Rover program, is sponsored by The Planetary Society and the LEGO Company, with Liberte Yogurt of Canada, Science Magazine, and the AAAS Directorate for Education and Human Resources, in cooperation with NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Malin Space Science Systems, ASU Mars K-12 Education Program, and Visionary Products, Inc. The LEGO Company has been a principal partner with The Planetary Society in the development of Red Rover, Red Rover.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
For more information about The Planetary Society, contact Susan Lendroth at (626) 793-5100 ext 237 or by e-mail at susan.lendroth@planetary.org.